After the Snow Storm depicts the snow-caked Gull Rock, a promontory located at the southeastern end of the island, its familiar round shape molded by the forces of wind, water, and time. Winter’s vigorous brushwork mirrors the weather-beaten surface of the terrain while simultaneously his palette choice draws one’s attention to the break in the weather of the painting’s title. The tempest has subsided, and the sunlight begins peeking through the clouds, scattering warm passages of ochre and yellow in the water and along the crests of the foreground rocks. He has ingeniously portrayed the elemental wonder of his beloved island home.

More information about this painting...

Many of America’s most revered artists have painted their finest works on the diverse island system off the coast of Maine. Andrew Winter, a rugged and often solitary figure, found his muse on Monhegan, spending even the cruelest of winters among the hardy fishermen and craggy shores of the remote outpost, located twelve miles from the mainland. On the advice of his friend and fellow artist Jay Connaway, Winter began visiting Monhegan in the late 1920s and became a veritable installation on the island after 1936, when he settled there year-round with his wife, painter Mary Taylor. Having cultivated a fondness for painting in winter, the artist would often set out in his small rowboat, weather permitting, to capture the coastal terrain from the most dramatic vantage points.

While he relished the isolation offered by island life, he maintained ties to numerous galleries and associations, and received awards at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the National Academy, and the Salmagundi Club, among other organizations. His oil and watercolor paintings were exhibited across the country at such venues as the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Ogunquit Art Club in Maine, and Babcock and Grand Central galleries of New York. Winter held memberships to the American Watercolor Society, the National Academy, the Salmagundi Club, and the Allied Artists of America.  

Winter’s oils of Black Head, Manana, Pulpit Rock, Lobster Cove, Gull Rock and other familiar scenes of Monhegan are currently held in numerous public and private collections nationwide, including the National Academy, the Pennsylvania Academy, the Cranbrook Academy, and the Mint Museum of Art in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Provenance:

Collection of one family for two generations (possibly acquired by the current owner's parents directly from the artist)

To private collection, Wellesley, Massachusetts

Inscription:

1. (in pencil on right stretcher) After the Snow Storm
2. (in pencil on top stretcher) After the Snow Storm